The best hot front-driver of the moment is worth the financial stretch – this is a seriously involving effort from Honda, giving you grip when you need it and adjustability when you want it.

That combination yields sensational agility that, along with a turbocharged engine of formidable flexibility, invites you to exploit everything this car has to offer.

A prettier, less track-biased car with a greater focus on cabin amenities than mechanical matters might have been a bigger seller, but it wouldn’t have been half as compelling. Nor would it be the most exciting hot hatch that can currently be bought new.

To find something that corners with the same ability, breathtaking confidence and mind-bending mechanical trickery of the third-generation Focus RS, you'd have to look at a car such as the Nissan GT-R.

This is a Ford that democratises specialness to a degree that you might well buy one solely for weekend use. And yet, beyond a thirsty 2.3-litre engine and seats that are set to high, you can of course live with this car as a daily driver.

Our only qualm is that the limits of its handling prowess are set so high that opportunities to explore them can be fleeting.

Upping the excitement quotient of the Golf GTI while delivering usability alien to the Focus RS is what the Golf R excels at. Indeed, here is a car that blends the sophistication that you’d expect of a Volkswagen with the rawness and sheer driver appeal of the best superheated hatches.

The ride can be a bit brittle and it lacks the aural drama of the old R32’s V6 but, for what it can do, it’s a bargain. In fact, it’s hard to escape the feeling that this 'ultimate Golf' is a cult classic in the making.

The fourth-generation Mégane RS isn’t a hot hatch for pretenders; with Cup chassis specced, this is a hard-riding, sharp-edged B-road weapon that demands some serious commitment if you’re to get the best out of it.

Four-wheel steering virtually shortens its wheelbase through tighter bends, while its 1.8-litre four-pot provides plentiful performance - though not as much as a Civic Type R - on the way out.

Ergonomics aren’t that great, and neither is the shift quality of its manual 'box. But on the right road, in the right conditions, there’s a lot to like here.

It is a little short on character, though, and while the chassis develops quite magnificent levels of grip and traction, the A45 is certainly not the most balletic of hot hatches. If you want class-leading point-to-point pace, however, we doubt that will matter too much.

This is the quickest Leon money can buy. Well, money could buy, if you were one of the 24 Brits who were able to get their hands on this limited-run performance model.

With 306bhp on tap from its turbocharged four-cylinder motor, the Cupra R is no slouch. Unlike the Golf R to which it’s closely related, though, the Seat doesn’t come with four-wheel drive. Instead, power is sent exclusively to the front axle, where torque is controlled by an electronically locking diff.

It doesn’t bite quite as hard as the Golf R on corner exit, though there’s still an impressively incisive, well-balanced hot hatch on offer here - if you can manage to get your hands on one.

The price of Audi’s most junior RS model is colossal, but what it gets you is a simply incredible 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine and dual-clutch gearbox. It’s a combination that allowed the 395bhp RS3 to hit 60mph in just 3.9sec during Autocar testing and dispatch 100mph in less than 10 seconds. That’s double-take stuff for a hatchback and puts the model into sports car territory.

lol no Peugeot 308 GTI and Megane 4 RS but crap like Golf GTI, Octavia RS and I30N, your french bashing makes you lose the little credibility you had

Considering Evo Magazine commended both the Peugeot and Renault for their highly involved driving experiences, it’s a shame that autocar continue to undermine these excellent hot hatch offerings in favour of the completely dull Octavia RS. The consistency just doesn’t add up when they give the i30N a three star review and the Peugeot a four but yet don’t list it in the top ten. Both Autocar and their sister site Whatcar? are always bashing French made cars, which is quite confusing when other magazines like Evo have spoken so highly of them. Hopefully the new 508 might change some minds.